‘Happy Endings’ satisfies its cast

By Frazier Moore -
Associated Press -
Monday, October 22, 2012

“We got lucky. We clicked,” said Adam Pally, one of the half-dozen stars of “Happy Endings,” ABC’s comedy about six friends being funny in Chicago. “We’re all playful and don’t take anything too seriously. The six of us are troublemakers!”

“It’s very much a team,” Elisha Cuthbert chimed in, “and I think that comes across on camera. We just really care about the well-being of our show and each other.”

“It’s a combination of like minds,” said Damon Wayans Jr. “We spend so much time with each other, it’s like we became a family.”

Mr. Wayans plays Brad, the metrosexual exec who, as this third “Happy” season begins (Tuesday at 9 p.m. EDT), has been laid off from his job. Or so thinks Jane (Eliza Coupe), Brad’s whippet-slim, high-strung and lovingly dominating wife, who likes the idea of her man at home waiting for her after her own workday.

“It’s very important to us to not be a boring married couple on TV,” Miss Coupe said. “So we want our characters to give and take like a real relationship would be, and be best friends, like a real relationship should be. And it’s really important to us to make sure they’re weird and quirky!”

Penny (Casey Wilson) is resuming her eternal search for Mr. Right, but something about her is new in the season opener: She is in a body cast (don’t ask). Meanwhile, Max, the sarcastic and openly gay slacker played by Mr. Pally, falls in lust with Penny’s hunky physical therapist.

Rounding out the sitcom sextet are Dave (Zachary Knighton), who, on the series’ very first episode, was ditched at the altar by his panic-stricken fiancee, Alex (played by Miss Cuthbert). But after last season, during which the couple existed in a laughably awkward limbo within their circle of friends, they are resuming their romance this season.

“I’m excited about getting to be an actual, legit couple with Dave, over there,” said Miss Cuthbert, gesturing toward Mr. Knighton during this recent conversation with the cast. “I’m looking forward to that.”

“When the show started,” Mr. Pally recalled, “Elisha and Zack were our emotional core, because the show was about their relationship and how it affected the rest of us. But as the show evolves, the writers have opened up their two characters and let them be as funny as everybody else. And Elisha and Zack are amazing comedic talents.”

Since premiering in winter 2011, “Happy Endings” has found loyal fans yet remains somewhat of a secret to many other viewers.